The actress played Monica Quartermaine on the series from 1977 until her death

Leslie Charleson has died at the age of 79.

The actress was best known as Monica Quartermaine on the soap opera General Hospital, a role she began playing in 1977, making her the cast member who was on the show the longest. She was a four-time Daytime Emmy nominee.

General Hospital’s executive producer Frank Valentini announced Charleson’s death on the show’s official Instagram page on Sunday, Jan. 12. “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” he began.

“Her enduring legacy has spanned nearly 50 years on General Hospital alone and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaines, Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew,” he continued. “I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set.”

Valentini concluded his message: “On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”

Charleson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1945. Her sister Kate, who died in 1996, also became an actress. Charleson acted as a child and in high school, and studied theater at Bennett College in upstate New York.

In 1964, she was cast on the NBC soap A Flame in the Wind. Then she joined ​​As the World Turns in 1966, before moving to CBS’s Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. She stayed with that series until 1970.

After leaving the show, she made guest appearances on series like Marcus Welby, M.D., Happy Days (as a love interest for Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham), The Streets of San Francisco, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, McMillan & Wife and The Rockford Files. She also starred in the 1971 made-for-TV horror film Revenge!. 

In 1977, she was brought onto General Hospital as the series’ ratings were floundering, replacing Patsy Rahn, who had debuted as Monica Bard Webber (later Monica Quartermaine) a year earlier. Monica, a doctor, filled the bad-girl archetype on the show, and Charleson loved playing her. 

“I only signed on for two years, and I don’t know what happened,” she told Digital Journal in 2019. “Back then, there weren’t a lot of good female roles that had that. It was an amazing time, and it was strong material to act.”

“She’s interesting, dedicated in all areas,” Charleson told Soap Opera Digest in 1981. “Her dedication in her social life can be a bit over the top, but it’s true. When she loves, it’s passionately. She puts her effort into it, sometimes at the expense of others.” 

And at the time, the actress was happy with her character’s growth. “I’m delighted with the progress she’s made, her sense of humor,” she said. “As an actress I enjoy Monica because she can wear any hat, go any place, do any thing.” Of her character’s reputation, she added, “When you’re all good, you’re boring. And nobody is just ‘good,’ unless she’s a saint.”

Monica’s most impactful relationship on the show was with fellow doctor Alan Quartermaine, played by the late Stuart Damon. The Quartermaine family joined the show the same year Charleson did, ultimately giving Monica deep ties to the show.

But Monica’s relationship with Alan was often volatile. In the ’80s, she often slapped Alan in the face. “We’d do real slaps,” Charleson told PEOPLE in 2023 for the show’s 60th anniversary. “Stuart was always afraid I’d take his eye out. I would fake a slap in dress rehearsal, but when we went to tape it, all that went out the window!”

Monica was often in the middle of love triangles and even accidentally had an affair with her nephew. But not all of Monica’s storylines emphasized over-the-top drama. In 1994, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

“Monica’s battle with breast cancer was just so incredibly fulfilling,” Charleson told FBJ Fit in 2020. “Dealing with a real-life issue that afflicts so many women and their families and being able to show the struggle and issues they face, was something I am so proud of. It was exhausting and incredibly difficult work, but the response to the storyline was truly humbling.”

Charleson began to appear on General Hospital on a recurring status beginning in 2010 and made less frequent appearances in the last years of her life. 

Once she joined the GH cast, Charleson rarely made TV appearances outside it. But she starred in the 1993 TV movie Woman on the Ledge and made guest appearances on Diagnosis: Murder and Dharma & Greg. She played herself in a 2004 episode of Friends, where she faced Joey (who was also a soap star) on a game show.  

Charleson was married once, to Bill Demms, from 1988 to 1991. Looking back at her GH tenure, she told Soap Opera Digest in 2001, “I really do love this job. Look at it this way — what better job can you do than get up in the morning, roll out of bed, throw something on and then have someone take care of how you look and how you dress and what you say? How much more grateful could you possibly be? Not bad, not bad at all.”